


skater boy

by worstgirl



Series: sk8er boi au [2]
Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: Gen, Jake’s the girl, M/M, Pining, basically just, i write deere to cope with quarantine, jeremy’s a rockstar, jeremy’s the skater boy, mentions of internalized homophobia, michael’s a supportive boy, sk8r boy by avril lavigne as an au, yes he sings sk8r boi let me live
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-15
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:41:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23160394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/worstgirl/pseuds/worstgirl
Summary: he was a boy, she was a girl(okay, not quite.)~~~“when the fuck were you going to tell me that jeremy heere was famous?”
Relationships: Jake Dillinger & Rich Goranski, Jake Dillinger/Jeremy Heere, Jake Dillinger/Jeremy Heere (past), Jeremy Heere & Michael Mell
Series: sk8er boi au [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1962199
Comments: 10
Kudos: 39





	1. one

Seeing Jeremy Heere’s face plastered across a billboard was the last thing Jake expected to see on a Saturday night. He’d been walking home, headphones in, before he glanced up and stopped dead in his tracks. 

He looked so much like he used to, but so different. His hair was still kind of long, pastel blue with chestnut brown roots, his freckles still obvious. He had a grin on his face, hands up in a victory sign, dark blue guitar slung across his chest. God, how was he as adorable as he used to be? How long had it been, five years? 

He’d be nineteen. Nineteen years old, and he was famous enough for a fucking billboard. And Jake hadn’t even noticed. 

Jake’s hands were oddly shaky as he pulled out his phone, dialing Brooke’s number. No luck. Rich, then. Rich answered with a dorky, “Yello.” 

Jake didn’t even dawdle. “When the fuck were you going to tell me that Jeremy Heere was famous?” 

There was silence on the other end of the phone. “Dude, how could you not know? He’s been, like, everywhere these days. Got a record deal when we were, like, fifteen or something. American Idol or some shit. I dunno.” Jake could practically hear the shrug in his voice. “I didn’t even know you really knew him.” 

That hit hard. 

Jake had known Jeremy better than anyone, except maybe Michael. He knew that his nose scrunched up when he laughed. He knew that he had a little birthmark where his neck met his shoulder shaped like a lopsided heart. He’d seen him dance around a skate park at two am before racing away, hand in Jake’s, when he thought he heard the cops. He’d pet his cat. (That sounded like an innuendo, but no, he’d actually pet his cat. Her name was Clyde, and he was one of the few people that Clyde liked.) He’d been allowed on his skateboard.

He’d held him while he cried, watched him spray paint the most beautiful piece of graffiti he’d ever seen, kissed him in an alleyway that smelled of fresh paint and giddy happiness that somehow felt wrong— in other words, cigarettes, with a hint of weed. He’d tasted like bubblegum and metal, an odd combination that made Jake want to go in for more. 

But he hadn’t. He’d run away, feet pounding on the pavement, not stopping until he was four blocks away. If any of his friends, or teammates, or anyone found out, they’d hate him. They already had an issue with Jeremy’s baggy jeans and slouchy beanie and the fact that he had a small pin with three stripes on his backpack and took a skateboard to school. He’d only said, “See you later.” 

He never saw him later.

“Yeah, I knew him.” 

“You should come with us, then, we’re gonna go see his show later. You and me and Brooke and Jenna.” Rich said, immediately jumping on the idea. “Yeah, Chris bailed last minute, said she had rehearsal or some shit. Her director isn’t letting her ditch, since she’s the best actress he’s got.” He laughed. “A little better from high school, huh?” 

Jake felt like screaming. Just five years ago, Rich had laughed at Jeremy. He’d pushed him in the hallways, and made Jake so scared to tell him that he liked the boy. And now he had tickets to see his show. It made him sick. “Sure, whatever. I’m not doing anything.” 

And that was how Jake found himself at a concert on a Saturday night, looking up at his— what even was Jeremy? Could you call someone your ex if you’d never actually dated them? He didn’t know. But god, he sounded amazing, and he looked as adorable as ever. He had quite a few younger fans— Jake was pretty sure he saw a couple girls throwing bras onstage, numbers scrawled on them with sharpie. Jeremy seemed extremely embarrassed, face flushed, even the tips of his ears pink. 

Jake had listened to his album— well, all of his albums. Arcade Hearts, Alley Lights, Static Voices. Apparently, the last one was a subtle blow at his producer, a guy from Squip Productions, who’d been a controlling, manipulative bastard. But Jake was more intrigued with Arcade Hearts. The first album, or, well, an EP, really. A list of six songs, all telling a story of Jeremy and a mysterious love interest, that ended up breaking his heart. The last song was titled See You Later. There weren’t pronouns, so it could have been anyone, but Jake knew. 

Jeremy shushed the crowd after a few songs— he was good. Like, really good. He didn’t need autotune or anything, which was more than Jake could say for most people. “Okay, okay.” He said with a laugh, holding up his hands. “I need you all to do something for me.” The crowd quieted a bit, the chatter dying down. “I don’t want you guys to shout or scream or anything.” He fixed the microphone, bringing it down closer to him. “Are all of you guys feeling okay tonight? It’s okay to say no.” 

There were a few murmurs. Some yes, some no, and in that moment, Jeremy made eye contact with Jake. For a split second, it held, and Jake was reminded of the last time he’d done that. 

Then it broke, and Jake felt like he was deflating. Fuck, he hadn’t known how much he missed Jeremy. Before he knew what he was doing, he balled his hand in his jacket sleeve, as if it was a hand he could hold. 

“So, uh, change of plans.” Jeremy said, seemingly determined. “Gimme a sec.” He exchanged his electric guitar for a more battered one backstage. It was covered in peeling stickers, and Jake recognized one— a tiny smiling cactus he’d given him, off the test he’d helped the other boy pass. Geometry, if he remembered correctly. He’d kept it, after all this time. 

“So, uh. This isn’t exactly a released song.” Jeremy said, situating himself on a stool. “And god, is my anxiety spiking.” He joked, and there was a ripple of laughter, but Jake was so intent on watching his nimble fingers. “But there’s this, uh, person I used to know. And I was really, really into them.” Jeremy’s eyes flickered up to Jake’s again, for just a moment. “And it didn’t end too well.” 

Jake’s hands gripped his sleeves like they were the last thing keeping him sane. 

“That’s not quite what this is about.” A few laughs, especially from Jeremy. Even in front of a crowd, it felt like he was talking to a group of friends. “But there’s some truth to it.” 

He plucked a few notes, before taking a deep breath. 

“He was a boy, she was a girl. Could I make it any more obvious?” It was a different style of singing— a bit more early 2000’s, actually. “He was a punk, she did ballet. What more can I say?” 

Already, a few heads were nodding to the beat, and Jake couldn’t help but tap his foot, hanging off of every word. “He wanted her, she’d never tell.” Jeremy’s eyes flickered to Jake for a moment, before darting away again. “Secretly, she wanted him as well. All of her friends stuck up their nose— they had a problem with his baggy clothes.” 

Jake could see his shoulders relaxing, his smile breaking into a grin, as he launched into the chorus. “He was a skater boy, she said see you later, boy, he wasn’t good enough for her. She had a pretty face, but her head was up in space, she’s gotta come back down to earth.” 

Ah. Well, then. Jeremy went on to talk about a concert, definitely calling Jake out. Jake felt like he was going to be sick, and he pushed away from his friends, worming his way through the crowd to move to the edge. “Sorry, girl, but you missed out, well— tough luck that boy’s mine now. We are more than just good friends, this is how the story ends.” 

Jake ran straight into someone, and he apologized in an uncharacteristically quiet mumble, before his sleeve was grabbed. “Hey. Jake, right?” 

Jake glanced up into the eyes of Michael Mell. It took him a moment to place him— same dark hair and tanned skin, but he looked older, more mature. Hell, he was almost Jake’s height, now. But he still wore the same hoodie, the one covered in patches. It was oddly comforting. 

Well, this was a development. Michael nodded at the stage, almost jerking his head towards Jeremy. If Jake didn’t know better, he’d swear the boy’s words were choked with tears. “He’ll kill me later. But...” The boy dug in his pocket, shoving a piece of paper into Jake’s hand. “Talk to him. Please. If I hear him write another song that’s basically all about him missing you, I’m either going to smack you or him.” 

“Dude, what are you—“ Jake glanced at Jeremy, at the way he ran his hand through his hair as he grinned at the applause, the slight tears shining in his eyes. God, he was beautiful. He flipped the paper over. VIP backstage access. That had to cost a fortune. He’d seen the prices of the normal tickets, backstage access had to be an exorbitant expense.

Michael grabbed his shoulders, looking him dead in the eyes. God, he hadn’t had anyone make this intense eye contact with him since... well, since Jeremy. “Don’t you dare let him get away. Not this time.” 

And then he clapped Jake on the shoulder, turning and heading off, flashing a peace sign over his shoulder, leaving him with a VIP ticket and a weight in his stomach. 

Jake made his way back to his friends. Jenna looked concerned, sidling up to him. “You okay?” Jenna was good at knowing when he was troubled. Sure, he usually wore his heart on his sleeve, but when it came to Jeremy and the confusion in his heart, it didn’t translate well. 

“I, uh.” He showed her the ticket. “Ran into Michael Mell.” Her eyes went wide, looking from the ticket to Jake. “He told me I should have this.” 

Jenna’s gaze softened. Sometimes, Jake was sure she was the only one who really knew about him and Jeremy. She knew everything about everyone. “Go get ‘im.” She said, poking his shoulder. “And don’t fuck it up.” 


	2. two

The lights backstage were oddly bright, now that the crowd was filtering out. Jake had to force down the swell of nerves rising in his gut. He was going to see Jeremy Heere, the boy he hadn’t seen in years. And Jake, stoic, badass, popular Jake, was absolutely terrified. 

He showed the pass to the security guards, before he was ushered backstage to a door. “Don’t try anything funny.” One of them said, and he was even taller than Jake, a veritable mountain of a man. “We’ll be right outside.” 

Jake swallowed, biting back a comment about how it wasn’t Jeremy they should be worried about. Nonetheless, he pushed open the door. 

He stopped in the room after the door closed, waiting for the boy to turn around. They were alone, which he hadn’t expected. Wasn’t this breaking all sorts of rules about parasocial relationships? Except Jeremy was talking on the phone. “— gave it away? Do you have any— I don’t care if it was for a good reason, this is my last night here, and I wanted to see my  _ best friend _ —“ Then, in the mirror, Jeremy caught sight of Jake, his face going white. Jake could see the freckles so clearly under the fluorescent lights. “Michael Alexander Mell, I’m going to kill you.” He hissed, before ending the call and whirling around, eyes filled with more anger than Jake had ever seen. “When you said ‘later’ I didn’t think you meant five years, Jake.” 

Jake winced. He deserved that, didn’t he? He raised his hands in defense, as if trying to calm a snarling dog. Actually, no, Jeremy was more of a hissing cat. “I— look, Jere, I can explain.” 

“What is there to explain?” Jeremy shut his eyes, before taking a deep breath, as if trying to resist the urge to punch him in the face. “Look, if you’re just trying to get with me again because I’m famous or whatever, save it. I don’t care what Michael says.” 

“I didn’t even know you were famous until, like, six hours ago!” Jake protested, resisting the urge to pull him into a hug. God, why did he have to be so... emotional? And not in a good way. “Rich dragged me here.” 

Jeremy snorted, looking at Jake, arms folded. He leaned against the counter in a way that reminded Jake how long they’d been apart. He wasn’t that gangly fourteen year old anymore. “You expect me to believe Richard Goranski listens to my music? Yeah. No way there.”

“No, seriously, he does.” Why were they talking about Rich? Jake didn’t want to talk about Rich, he wanted to talk about Jeremy. “I really didn’t know about all of this until a little bit ago.”

“Gee, that makes me feel a lot better.” Jeremy said sarcastically, and Jake had to stop himself from finding that too attractive. How did he look like that when he was so angry? Honestly, Jake didn’t mind him being angry, he would be too. “So you’re saying that you decided that you hated me and just… never thought about me again? That really just warms my heart, Dillinger.” 

“I don’t—“

“No, save it. You— You told me you loved me, and— and you were the only person who had ever said that to me, and I know that coming out is hard, but couldn’t you have just— told me to my face that you didn’t want to be with me? Or was I just a huge experiment to you that you don’t give a shit about?” Jeremy paced the floor of his dressing room, tugging at the dyed hair on his head. “Look, whatever, I just— want to know what you wanted from me then.”

Jake was left standing there, watching the other boy. “I don’t— I don’t know.” He said, which clearly wasn’t the answer Jeremy wanted. He seemed to deflate, and he opened his mouth, eyes flickering to the door. He was going to make Jake leave, wasn’t he? “Wait, no, let me— let me finish.” 

Taking a deep breath, Jake had to collect his thoughts. “I really did like you then. I just— wasn’t sure what people would think of me. I mean, I was, what, fifteen? I should’ve been worrying about, like, worrying about what shoes I was wearing, not whether or not I’d be socially ostra— ostero— excluded for being gay.” 

For a split second, Jake thought he saw the ghost of a smile on Jeremy’s face. “Yeah, those hideous yellow things. I don’t think they should even be considered sneakers.” 

Jake huffed, rolling his eyes. “Hey now, I never made fun of your beanies!”

“Excuse you, Dillinger, you did too!” Jeremy had a grin on his face. Jake was determined to keep it there. “You made fun of them  _ constantly. _ ” 

“Well, can you blame me?” Against his better judgement, he reached out and ruffled Jeremy’s curls. Shit, how were they still so soft? “You’re covering up all this cute hair.” 

Jeremy’s face flushed pink, his hand inadvertently coming up to clutch Jake’s wrist. They both froze like that for a moment. If Jake didn’t know any better, he’d say that neither of them wanted to pull away. 

Finally, Jeremy stepped away, dropping Jake’s hand. It felt almost cold, which was odd, considering that Jeremy’s hand was cold anyways and the lack of it shouldn’t have been the issue. “Look, I— what do you want from me?” His voice was soft, and Jake was reminded that under the rockstar persona, he was still just that anxious freshman. 

Jake had a vivid memory of watching Jeremy, his hoodie abandoned in the opening of an alleyway, spraying a dark line of paint across a rainbow of already laid down paint. He’d turned around, grinning at Jake, who was sitting there with his textbook open on his lap as if he was going to read it. In that moment, with the graffiti stretching out behind him, the afternoon sun turning the roots of his hair to bronze, Jeremy had been the most beautiful thing he’d ever had the pleasure of seeing. 

This was almost nothing like that. The fluorescent mirror lights seemed painfully bright, and the dressing room wasn’t particularly luxurious either, but Jeremy was still just as beautiful, in a more tired, quiet way. 

“A chance?” Jake said, his voice softer than he’d meant it to come out sounding. “I know I can’t… fix anything I did then, but… I did like you. A lot. And, um.” He cleared his throat, his cheeks red. “I’m pan. And out. So… that’s taken care of? If that’s an option anymore, I mean, you’re a rockstar now, and you’re—“

Jake could see the grin tugging at the other boy’s lips, and in an instant, Jeremy had pushed himself off from leaning against the counter, stepping in closer to him. A cool finger was pressed to his lips. “I thought I was the anxious rambler.” Jeremy said, his cheeks starting to flush. He made a movement as if he was about to pull away, but he lingered. Although he did let his finger drop. “I… I’ll need some time to think. I mean, it has been five years, so—“

“Five years of you writing pining music after me?” Jake said before he could help himself, fighting to keep a wicked grin down. 

The shorter boy’s face turned dark red, and he smacked Jake’s shoulder, making him laugh. “Cocky, Dillinger! How do you— I thought you said you just realized I was famous!”

“So you admit it! They are about me!” Jake paused at the second half of that, his face feeling hot. “Well. I may have gone home and listened to all of your albums. But that’s besides the point! Because you still  _ pine  _ after me!” 

“Sh-Shut up! Not all of those were about you, anyways, you egomaniac.” Jeremy folded his arms in an obnoxiously adorable effort to seem less flustered. 

“I am not obsessed with birds, thank you very much!” 

“What—  _ ego  _ maniac. Not eagle. I swear, have you changed at all since high school?” Jake paused, considering that. 

“Well. I don’t know a lot of big words still. Rich is still my best friend. I still like doing ballet despite the fact that my sister quit years ago. Oh, and I still have an undeniable crush on someone.” He mused, tapping his chin dramatically. 

Surprisingly, something flickered over Jeremy’s face. “Ah. Yeah, got that, you’re still… Chloe, huh?”

Jake blinked. “What— no. Definitely not. She’s an absolute bitch— I know, not any way to talk about a lady, but seriously, no. Absolutely not. I meant  _ you,  _ idiot.” He poked Jeremy’s forehead. 

Jeremy perked up, his face flushing again. “You— ah. Right. Um.” He cleared his throat. “I just assumed— never mind. So… what— what is this, then?” 

Jake paused, before he leaned around Jeremy, picking up a Sharpie lying on the counter. He could feel Jeremy freezing, and when he straightened up, he realized Jeremy was blushing even darker than he’d ever seen. 

“Give— give a guy a little warning, will you?” He stammered out, avoiding Jake’s eyes. 

“Nah. You’re cute when you’re flustered still.” He said, grinning, before he jotted down his number on the back of the VIP ticket. “This is me, giving you my number. I know you’re really famous and on tour, but… if you ever find yourself back in town, give me a call and maybe… we can go out for coffee?” He paused. “Ah, right, famous. We can get coffee from a drive thru and visit our old haunts? Your graffiti is still up, no one’s painted over it yet.” 

He gave a small grin, trying not to show how nervous he was on the inside, his stomach twisting and his heart pounded as Jeremy looked at the ticket for a moment, two, three. 

Then he reached out and took it. Jake realized his nails were painted as he held the ticket like it was made of glass. Jeremy looked up at him, biting his lip. 

Jake opened his mouth to backtrack on what he’d said, but then Jeremy was close, very close, and— Jeremy kissed his cheeks. His hands were cold, but his lips were warm, and he lingered there for a beat or two. “I’d like that a lot.” 

Their faces were centimeters apart. Jake managed to breathe out, “I would, too.” Was this where they kissed? Jake couldn’t remember the last time he’d kissed someone. He wondered if Jeremy would still taste like bubblegum. 

The door pushed open. “Time’s up—“ Jake stepped back from Jeremy, clearing his throat. Both of their faces were dark red, and just before Jake was escorted out by the large security guard, he caught a glimpse of Jeremy tucking the ticket into his pocket with a smile. 

Jake found himself standing in the middle of the mostly empty venue, hands in his pockets and a grin on his face. 

“I take it that went well?” A voice spoke up. Jake turned his head to see Michael leaning against the wall, headphones half on. He raised an eyebrow at Jake. 

“Yeah. Um. Very much so.” He tried to kill his grin. 

“Good. I gave up seeing my best friend face to face for you.” For a moment, Michael looked pissed, before he broke into a grin. “It was worth it, though.” His face grew serious again. “Hurt him and you’ll pay for it.”

Jake held up his hands. “Did enough of that in high school, homie. I am not looking to repeat it.”

Michael clapped him on the shoulder, albeit a bit awkwardly. He didn’t seem to have much experience with people, even now. “Rad. Seeing my best friend pining after some guy for five years was horrifically painful. Lets hope this gives him some hope. Or closure.”

Jake paused, before he smiled awkwardly. “Yeah, I hope so too. And—“

“Before you go on some longwinded spiel about how horribly you treated me in high school, I’m gonna stop you.” Michael said with a hand raised. “Most of the stuff you said was right, and I honestly don’t care. You were still an ass, though. But I suppose if you’re wooing Jeremy, we gotta be cool. So.” He held out a fist. 

Jake tapped his own fist against Michael’s. “We cool?”

“We are. Now get home, your ride’s waiting for you.” He gestured towards Rich, standing in the door. Jake started for him, glancing over his shoulder to see Michael disappearing down the hall to Jeremy’s dressing room. 

“What was that all about? Was that Mell?” Rich immediately interrogated him. “And what’s got you all giddy?”

“Rich, my friend, I’ll explain it later.” The grin wouldn’t leave Jake’s face the whole ride home as he stared out the window of Rich’s dad’s old minivan. And when he got a text from an unknown number, everything seemed to click into place. 

**_[ Unknown ] hey. plane doesn’t leave til late tomorrow, we rescheduled. eight am at the skatepark? coffees on me._ **

Jake let his smile fade into a softer one, his head leaning on the window. For now, all was well. He had his friends next to him, nodding their heads to the cd Brooke had bought at the merch stand, and the wind in his hair from the rolled down windows, and a date with a cute boy. He couldn’t ask for anything more. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sup its percy back at it again with finishing multichap wips more than half a year later!! anyways. i’ve been on a writing kick so i hope y’all liked this!! 
> 
> anyways, friendly reminder to keep washing ur hands, sign petitions, donate, and all that. the pandemic and the movement are not over. 
> 
> on that note!!
> 
> stay safe, and stay wonderful, loves. 
> 
> ~ percy

**Author's Note:**

> oops its au making time for percy n her deere shipping ass  
> actually i’ve had this au for ages and i just never did anything big with it so like oopsie  
> anyways hope you enjoyed this!! part two should be up soon enough uwu.  
> stay safe, and stay wonderful, loves!!
> 
> ~percy


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